Chapter 5 Wireless
eircom F1000 Modem User’s Guide
96
WPS allows you to quickly set up a wireless network with strong security, without having to
configure security settings manually. Each WPS connection works between two devices. Both
devices must support WPS (check each device’s documentation to make sure).
Depending on the devices you have, you can either press a button (on the device itself, or in its
configuration utility) or enter a PIN (a unique Personal Identification Number that allows one device
to authenticate the other) in each of the two devices. When WPS is activated on a device, it has two
minutes to find another device that also has WPS activated. Then, the two devices connect and set
up a secure network by themselves.
5.10.9.1
Push Button Configuration
WPS Push Button Configuration (PBC) is initiated by pressing a button on each WPS-enabled
device, and allowing them to connect automatically. You do not need to enter any information.
Not every WPS-enabled device has a physical WPS button. Some may have a WPS PBC button in
their configuration utilities instead of or in addition to the physical button.
Take the following steps to set up WPS using the button.
1
Ensure that the two devices you want to set up are within wireless range of one another.
2
Look for a WPS button on each device. If the device does not have one, log into its configuration
utility and locate the button (see the device’s User’s Guide for how to do this - for the Device, see
Section 5.6 on page 83
).
3
Press the button on one of the devices (it doesn’t matter which). For the Device you must press the
WPS button for more than three seconds.
4
Within two minutes, press the button on the other device. The registrar sends the network name
(SSID) and security key through an secure connection to the enrollee.
If you need to make sure that WPS worked, check the list of associated wireless clients in the AP’s
configuration utility. If you see the wireless client in the list, WPS was successful.
5.10.9.2
PIN Configuration
Each WPS-enabled device has its own PIN (Personal Identification Number). This may either be
static (it cannot be changed) or dynamic (in some devices you can generate a new PIN by clicking
on a button in the configuration interface).
Use the PIN method instead of the push-button configuration (PBC) method if you want to ensure
that the connection is established between the devices you specify, not just the first two devices to
activate WPS in range of each other. However, you need to log into the configuration interfaces of
both devices to use the PIN method.
When you use the PIN method, you must enter the PIN from one device (usually the wireless client)
into the second device (usually the Access Point or wireless router). Then, when WPS is activated
on the first device, it presents its PIN to the second device. If the PIN matches, one device sends
the network and security information to the other, allowing it to join the network.
Take the following steps to set up a WPS connection between an access point or wireless router
(referred to here as the AP) and a client device using the PIN method.